It is certain that the truth is a single and specific existence, and cannot become plural nor multiplied, and therefore it requires a single cognition and demands a single criterion. [Return to Islam, p. 23]
The human being’s cognitions must inevitably lead to a self-evident cognition that is the origin of all cognitions and is not originated from any cognition itself; because what needs to be known cannot be a criterion of cognition; because it needs a criterion of cognition itself. With this description, people who make such a thing as their criterion of cognition should not be confident of their cognition; because their cognition is weak and baseless. [Return to Islam, p. 23]
The only thing that can be the criterion of cognition for the human being is “the intellect”; because the intellect is the only means for the human being’s cognition, and there is no perceptive faculty other than the intellect in his self. In other words, there is no substitute for the intellect to be equivalent to it and can dispense with it, and this is a perceptible and conscientious matter. Moreover, the human being’s cognition is practically done by the intellect, and neither his consent nor dislike has any effect on this reality; because this fact is the inherent characteristic of the human being and the creation of the Wise God, and with this descriptions, it is not possible for the human being to change it. [Return to Islam, p. 25]
The intellect is the main and the most basic foundation of cognition, and any cognition which does not lead directly or indirectly to the intellect is meaningless. Other foundations, if they exist, return to the intellect themselves; because they are not known without the intellect and have no use except for the intellectuals; as the religion, although very useful, is itself known by the intellect and addresses only the intellectuals. [Return to Islam, p. 25]
This is only certainty that is considered as the criterion of cognition; because illusion, doubt and conjecture contradict more or less with their contrary probability, and therefore they themselves need a criterion of cognition in order to know the correctness of one of the two probabilities in them, and that criterion is indeed certainty that has no contrary probability, and therefore its authority is inherent and self-evident. It is hereby understood that the foundation of the human being’s cognition is only certainty, and any cognition that does not lead to certainty has no validity. [Return to Islam, p. 27]
Where are my true helpers? Where are those who, like Christ, left the world behind and were freed from any attachment to it? Where are those who were companions of death and saw God in front of them? They wept out of fear of fire, as if they were bereaved parents! They looked around the sky as if they saw the Angels throughout it! They worshiped God and avoided worshiping taghut. They obeyed their leader and competed with each other to help him. It was as if they were steel boards or soaring mountains! When they attacked the enemy in their ranks, it was as if they launched tornadoes and sandstorms. They watched their behavior and knew the proper time for any word. They were adorned with good morals and pure from evil morals. They were unknown on the earth and well known in the sky. Dust sat on them, and their faces were pale. They were like honey beehives during the nights! They spend the nights in performing the prayer, asking for forgiveness and reciting the Quran, and spend the days in gaining knowledge, jihad and serving people. They were neither exhausted nor hesitant. May God have mercy on them. They spent their time and left, and now you are left for us. So make the effort to be good successors to them, and follow their footsteps, and know that you will not see the Faraj unless you are like this. [Letter six]
Indeed, your example in the life of the world has been like that of a child who has lost his mother in the crowd, so in the hope of finding her, he grasps the skirt of every woman and follows her for a while, until he sees unkindness from her and finds out that she is not the mother, then he leaves her while wailing and grasps the skirt of someone else, until the darkness of the night surrounds him and its cold kills him, while there is no helper for him! This has been your example in the life of the world that in the hope of achieving justice, you have set your hearts on every government and followed it for a while until you have seen oppression from it and realized that there is not justice in it, then you have overthrown it while shouting, and turned toward another government! Thus, in the search for justice, sometimes you have tended to the East and sometimes to the West; sometimes you have run to the left and sometimes to the right; sometimes you have turned toward Zayd and sometimes toward Amr; sometimes you have set your hearts on monarchy and sometimes on democracy! While justice has been neither in the East nor in the West; it has been neither in the left nor in the right; it has been neither in Zayd nor in Amr; it has been neither in monarchy nor in democracy! Justice is only in the government of God, who is aware of your measures and places, and none but He can find a way to it, even though one searches and strives hard, except for the one whom He has guided to it... [Letter fourteen]
Justice is only in the government of God, who is aware of your measures and places, and none but He can find a way to it, even though one searches and strives hard, except for the one whom He has guided to it, but you have despaired of His mercy and neglected His Mahdi, and therefore, you have entrusted the government which He has wanted for His Mahdi to those for whom He has not wanted a government! It seems the government is the inheritance of your fathers that you take it from whomever you want and give it to whomever you want, and it seems it does not belong to God who has said: ﴿قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَنْ تَشَاءُ وَتَنْزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّنْ تَشَاءُ﴾; “Say: O God! You are the Owner of the government! You give the government to whomever You will and take the government from whomever You will”, and He has given it to Ibrahim and made a covenant with the just from among his descendants, and said: ﴿وَإِذِ ابْتَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّي جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا ۖ قَالَ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي ۖ قَالَ لَا يَنَالُ عَهْدِي الظَّالِمِينَ﴾; “And when God tested Ibrahim with some words, then he fulfilled them, He said: I am going to appoint you as an Imam for people, he said: And also my descendants? He said: My covenant does not reach the oppressors”, and the just from among his descendants are those whom God has willed to remove all impurity from them and to purify them completely, and they are in the Book of God the Ahl al-Bayt of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family[3], and it is hereby understood that Mahdi of God is from the household of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, and the Ahl al-Bayt of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and whoever chooses a ruler other than him has gone far astray. [Letter fourteen]
It is surprising that people in every era have pledged allegiance to someone and made the covenant of guardianship with someone but have not known that no one can accomplish it and do it justice, except for the one whom God has guided and enabled to do so!... Do people not have eyes to see that their rulers are all oppressors and do not do justice?! Or do they not have ears to hear that their politicians are all liars and do not tell the truth?! Or do they not have intelligence to find out that their leaders all mislead and do not lead?! So how long will this pus-filled wound be opened, and how long will this madness continue?! Beware, O people! Tell me! How long should you, like dead drunks, stagger from the right to the left and from the left to the right until you finally understand that the right and the left are the same for you, and there is no justice in either of them?! Tell me! How many other governments should you test, and how much other obedience should you pay the price for until you finally find out that no government but the government of God will bring you to justice, and no obedience but the obedience to His Caliph will free you from oppression?! Is this thousands of years of experience not enough?! Are these heavy prices not enough?! Did you not hear Nimrods and Pharaohs? Did you not bear Khosrows and Caesars?! Did you not see caliphs and kings?! Did you not test republics and Islamics?! So have you not yet learned your lesson?! [Letter fourteen]
Beware, O cruel kings and emirs who shed the blood of the innocent to gain and maintain domination! Beware, O hypocritical jurists and mullahs who unrightfully consider yourselves to be appointed by God and guardians of Muslims of the world! Beware, O greedy politicians who vie to take over the government! Beware, O deceitful political parties who seek nothing but power! Beware, O criminal cults and groups who strive to achieve superiority on the earth! Leave these troubled people alone and go away from between them and their owner! Are thousands of years of oppression and corruption not enough?! Is a history of humiliation and poverty not enough?! Are you not tired of all these evil doings and giving rise to fitnahs?! Then when will you end this childish game?! Then when will you stop these repetitive methods?! [Letter fourteen]
Translation of the saying: One of our companions informed us, he said: I asked Mansoor about the words of God Almighty that says: “O you who believed! Fear God and be with the truthful”, so he said: The earth is never empty of a truthful one that the believers are obliged to be with him, to not go ahead of him and to not fall behind him. So whoever dies while he is not with the truthful one of his time, has died while disobeying his Lord, and this is the purpose of the wise, where they say: O Lord! “Make us die with the righteous”! [Passage 14 from Saying six]
Translation of the saying: One of our companions informed us, he said: I asked Mansoor about the words of the wise that say: “And make us die with the righteous”, so he said: No time is empty of a righteous Imam with whom whoever dies will gain salvation, so be companions of the righteous Imam in your time to gain salvation! I said: Who is the righteous Imam in our time? He said: A man from the household of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, who is called Mahdi, I said: How can we be his companions when we do not know him?! He said: Whenever he feels companionship in you, he will introduce himself to you, just as when he felt separation in you, he hid from you! [Passage 15 from Saying six]
Translation of the saying: One of our companions informed us, he said: I asked Mansoor about the words of God Almighty that has said: “Ask any informed one about Him”, so he said: (It means) ask someone who is informed about Him, then he said: Indeed, there is a man informed about God among people that they must ask him so that he informs them about God, so whoever of them dies while he does not know this man has died in ignorance and deviation, I said: How can they know him?! He said: If they held firmly to the Book of God and the one from among His Caliphs on the earth whom they knew, it would not be hidden from them, but they turned away, so “God sealed their hearts, ears and eyes, and they are the unaware”. [Passage 16 from Saying six]
Translation of the saying: One of our companions informed us, he said: I heard Mansoor say: God has not revealed in the Book what people are not able to do, and He has revealed in It: “Ask the people of remembrance if you do not know”, so no time is empty of a man of remembrance that people ask him about what they do not know and he gives them the right answer, and if you tell these ignorant people to know this man and ask him, they will say that you are but the people of bid’ah! I said: May I be sacrificed for you, these people say that the scholars are all people of remembrance, so he said: Do all of them give right answers when asked? I said: No, he said: God does not command to ask a group that may not give right answers! [Passage 17 from Saying six]
Translation of the saying: One of our companions informed us, he said: We were in a mosque with the righteous servant [That is, Mansoor, may God protect him] and there were men from Salafiyya with us, so he looked at them and said: Indeed, God has renewed a new remembrance for you, then follow it and do not follow the predecessors; because the predecessors did not follow the predecessors, but followed their remembrance, and indeed, whoever stops at the predecessors and does not follow the remembrance that God has renewed for him, has cut off what God has commanded to be always kept constant and has gone astray from His way, “they are being called from a faraway place”! A man from Salafiyya said: Is it not that every renewed thing is bid’ah?! So His Honor paid attention to him and said: Bid’ah is what people have renewed in the religion, and the remembrance is what God has renewed, then he recited this verse that says: “Never comes to them a renewed remembrance from their Lord, unless they listen to it as they play around”. The man said: What is the renewed remembrance?! He said: An Imam whom God renews in every century that guides by His command, in order to warn everyone who is alive and prove the words to disbelievers. The man said: We have not heard this in the first centuries, this is nothing but bid’ah! He said: Woe to you! Do you want nothing but to speak like those who disbelieved?! They said: “We have not heard of this in the religion of past people, this is but a fabrication”. I swear to God, I did not think any Muslim would say this until I heard you say it, O people of Salfiyya! [Passage 18 from Saying six]
Translation: Ali ibn Bābawayh [Died in 329 AH] has narrated in the book of “al-Imāmah wa al-Tabsirah”, from Sa’d, from Muhammad ibn Isā ibn Ubayd, from Muhammad ibn Sinān and Safwān ibn Yahyā and Abdullah ibn Mughayrah and Ali ibn al-Nu’mān all of them, from Abdullah ibn Muskān, from Abu Baseer, from Abu Abdullah — meaning Ja’far ibn Muhammad al-Sādiq — peace be upon him that said: Indeed, God has not left the earth be unless there is a knowledgeable one therein who knows excess and defect, so that if the believers increased, he makes them return, and if they decreased, he completes for them, so he says: ‘Take it completely’, and if had not been like this, the affairs of the believers would have become doubtful for them, and the truth would have not been distinguished from falsehood.
Mansoor may God protect him, said: This is our speech that we say to people: Take the religion completely and purely, so that no defect be in it nor any excess with it, for its likeness is that of fire, if it increases it burns the food, and if it decreases it does not cook it. [Lesson one, p. 37]
Translation: Mansoor may God protect him, said: Indeed, God would not be worshipped on earth through a deceased Imam; because His worship on it is establishment of the limits and enforcement of the laws and management of the properties and performing Jihad against His enemies, and these works need a living Imam. So if he dies or get killed, God replaces him with someone like him or better than him, according to His tradition regarding abrogating and making forgotten; as He has said: “Any sign which We abrogate or make it to be forgotten, We bring a sign better than it or like it. Have you not known that God is Capable in doing everything?” and Ja’far ibn Muhammad peace be upon them, referred to this speech of mine, in that which has been narrated from him, when he said to Isā ibn Abdullah: Know that O Isā, you will not be faithful until you know the abrogator from the abrogated, he said: May I be your sacrifice, what is to know the abrogator from the abrogated? He said: Is it not that you are with the Imam while you have made yourself obey him with goodwill, then he passes away and another Imam comes, then you make yourself obey him with goodwill? He said: Yes, he said: This is to know the abrogator from the abrogated, and it has been narrated that Mu’allā ibn Khunays asked him about a narration which has been received from the past Imams, so he said: Take it as long as it comes to you through a living Imam, then if it came to you through a living Imam, take his speech. [Lesson one, p. 42]
Translation: Mansoor may God protect him, said: Indeed, God would not be worshipped on earth through an absent Imam; because he cannot establish the limits and collect the charities and enforce the laws and fight against the enemies in his absence, and if someone other than him carries them out, he will fail in many of them; because God would not guide him and would not bestow the success on him, and if he accomplishes something, it will not be accepted from him; because he has not accomplished it through the way God had commanded, whereas God has said: “Beneficence is not that you enter houses from behind them, but the benefactor is someone who acts upon piety, and enter houses through their doors, and fear God, may it be that you gain salvation”. [Lesson one, p. 42]
Translation: Ali ibn Bābawayh [Died in 329 AH] has narrated in the book of “al-Imāmah wa al-Tabsirah”, from al-Himyari, from Sindi ibn Muhammad, from ‘Alā ibn Razin, from Muhammad ibn Muslim, from Abu Ja’far (al-Bāqir) peace be upon him that said: The earth would not be without a hidden or visible Imam!
Mansoor may God protect him, said: Indeed, God would not be worshiped on earth except through a visible and living Imam; because His worship on it is establishment of the limits and enforcement of the laws and management of the properties and performing Jihad against His enemies, and these works need a visible and living Imam. So if He does not appoint a visible and living Imam, He has not perfected His Favor for His servants and has not set a way for them to worship Him. Therefore, if they abandon worshiping Him, there is no proof for God against them, unless He appoint a visible and living Imam, but they make him hide; because whenever they do so and then abandon worshiping God, they have set a proof for God against themselves; as God has said: “It is because of that which your hands have sent forth, and God is not oppressive toward servants” and has said: “And God has not oppressed them, but they have oppressed themselves” and it is not that if He appoints a visible and living Imam for them, but they kill him out of oppression; because whenever they make him hide, they can make him appear whenever they repent and reform, but if they kill him, they cannot make him alive, and Imam whenever he is hidden, can help them repent and reform with his prayer and blessings and his communication with some of the righteous, and maybe he enjoins them to good and forbids them from evil without them knowing him, but if he dies, he can do nothing and therefore, it is permissible for God in His Justice and Grace to make Imam hide whenever He sees evil in His servants, but it is not permissible for Him to take him from this world without setting a substitute for him. [Lesson one, p. 43]
Translation: Mansoor may God protect him, said: Some of those who do not like what God has revealed, have thought that the narration of the Prophet peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, stating that his Ahl al-Bayt are a protection for the inhabitants of earth, is fabricated, but it is not what they have thought, rather it is a correct narration which is compatible with Quran and the Sunnah and is compatible with the intellect; as Hākim (al-Neyshāburi) [Died in 495 AH] has considered it to be correct in the book of “al-Mustadrak”. The fabricated is the narration which they have considered to be correct so that they oppose the truth (that is, this correct narration) by it, and it has been said in it that the Prophet peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, said: “My companions are a protection for my nation, so when my companions are gone, what has been promised to my nation will come to them” and this is a false narration which is in conflict with Quran and the Sunnah and is in conflict with the intellect; because if the meaning of the Prophet peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, from “what has been promised to my nation” in it, has been the punishment or the Resurrection Day, none of them came to his nation when his companions went away, and if his meaning from it, has been disagreement, the disagreement came to them when his companions were still among them, rather his companions founded it by the disagreement they made among themselves, whereas the Prophet peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, cannot say something that is not true, and accordingly he did not say so. This narration has been narrated by Abu Burdah ibn Abu Musa, and he is a bad man that was hostile toward Ali and befriended his enemies, and at the command of Zyād ibn his father, he testified against Hujr ibn ‘Adi may God be pleased with him. It is thought that he has distorted this narration out of enmity toward Ahl al-Bayt, and the one who trusts him regarding this narration is a fool. The correct is that which has been received from the Prophet peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, about his Ahl al-Bayt that God has removed any impurity from them and has made them completely pure, and it has been received through Ali, Jābir ibn Abdullah, Salamah ibn al-Akwa’, Abdullah ibn Abbās, Abu Sa’id al-Khudri and Abu Musa al-Ash’ari. [Lesson one, p. 47]
It is not intellectually or religiously impossible for Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, to have a successor or messenger or child, based on the statement that he exists at the present time; because Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, based on the statement that he exists at the present time, is a human being like other people, and consequently, like any of them, he can delegate some of his works to someone else, or send a messenger, or take a wife to have a child with, however, considering that being a successor or messenger or child of someone is against the principle, the claimant must prove it with a valid religious reason, but it is clear that dreams or ahad narrations are not valid religious reasons; because there is nothing in the Quran and the Sunnah that indicates the permissibility of acting on a dream in order to accept the claims of people when they have no proof or the proof is against them, and it is not acceptable from a judge to adjudicate without a proof or against it, with the excuse that he has dreamed about it. Therefore, one cannot believe or act on something for which there is no proof from the intellect and the religion, with the reasoning that he saw something in a dream that indicates it, and this is explicitly stated in the Hadiths from the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them; as they have said: “Indeed, the religion of God is more firm than to be seen in dreams”. The only exception to that is what an infallible person sees; like what Ibrahim, peace be upon him, saw... and also what a fallible person sees but an infallible person interprets; like what Pharaoh saw, and Yusuf, peace be upon him, interpreted... Therefore, other dreams that people see or interpret have no validity and cause conjecture at most; as the issuance of ahad narrations is conjectural, so it is not permissible to act on them in what is related to the religion; because of the explicit of the words of God Almighty that has said: “Indeed, conjecture is not sufficient for (proving) the truth”. Therefore, the claimants who now, by relying on dreams and interpreting some ahad narrations, consider themselves to be children, successors and messengers of Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, claim something that cannot be religiously acknowledged. [Question and Answer 4]
The true ground preparers for the advent of Mahdi are a group of people from Khorasan, who have risen with the black flags in order to search for Mahdi and invite people toward him with a pure invitation, without any polytheism and Shubha, and their leader, Mansoor, is a righteous scholar who does not say anything undue about himself. He does not claim to be Mahdi nor his child nor his successor nor his messenger, but he practically invites people toward him, and actually prepares the ground for his advent, and Whoever God has wanted good for him will rush toward him, even though by crawling on snow. [Question and Answer 4 Appendices]
A very important rule that every Muslim must know and pay attention to is that conjecture has no authority in Islam. God Almighty has explicitly stated in the Quran: ﴿إِنَّ الظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئًا﴾ which means, “Indeed, conjecture is not sufficient for (proving) the truth”, and He has rebuked those who follow conjecture and said: ﴿إِنْ يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ﴾ which means, “They follow nothing but conjecture and do nothing but guess”. This means that Muslims’ beliefs and actions must always be based on certainty, and those beliefs and actions that are based on conjecture, are not correct nor acceptable to God. This is while imitating others in beliefs and actions, in the sense of following their words and deeds without knowing their reasons, obviously does not lead to certainty, but leads to conjecture, and therefore, according to the explicit words of God Almighty in His Book, “[It] is not sufficient for (proving) the truth”. But the proof of those who believe imitation in actions is permissible is that they consider actions to be different from beliefs, whereas this difference is not proved in Islam, and God’s words in the Quran are general and include both beliefs and actions. This means that every Muslim must learn his Islamic beliefs and actions, just as he learns reading, writing and other necessities of life, and must not accept or perform any belief and action unless with a certain reason, and the certain reasons in Islam, as explained by Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, may God protect him, in his book Return to Islam, are the verses of the Quran and mutawatir Hadiths and of course hearing from the Caliph of God on the earth. This is the pure and complete Islam which is not tainted by conjectures. [Question and Answer 1]
Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani does not consider Muslim scholars as maraji’ al-taqlid for Muslims, and believes that acting on their fatwas without knowing their reasons is not sufficient; as it is not sufficient if their reasons are conjectural either. Therefore, Muslims must request fatwas of Muslim scholars with their reasons, and Muslim scholars must inform them about the reasons for their fatwas in detail, and tell them, for example, “The reason for our such and such fatwa is such and such verse of the Quran, or such and such mutawatir Hadith, or the direct hearing from God’s Caliph on the earth”, and in this case Muslims can act on their fatwas; because this is not considered imitating them, rather it is acting on their certain reasons, and in fact acting on the Quran and the Sunnah. But if they do not inform Muslims about the reasons for their fatwas in detail, or the reasons for their fatwas are conjectural, such as fame, consensus, and wahid narrations, then it is not sufficient to act on their fatwas, and it is obligatory to search for the certain reasons, then take precaution if possible, and then stop until it becomes possible to access God’s Caliph on the earth, and of course, the preparation of the ground for the advent of God’s Caliph on the earth is as necessary as the preparation of the ground for reaching the Sacred Mosque for the one who is obligated to perform Hajj, and this is a fact that Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani calls out loudly, may those who have listening ears in the East and West of the world hear and accept it. [Question and Answer 7]
Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani is one of the servants of God and the nation of His Prophet, Muhammad peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, who follows the Quran and the mutawatir Sunnah of His Excellency in the light of the intellect; he does not claim to be a Prophet or Imam appointed by God, nor is he in affiliation with any government or sect or group in the world; he only invites toward the Caliph of God, Mahdi, and prepares the ground for his advent through cultural activities such as writing books and conversing with Muslims, and in return for this righteous and hard work, he does not ask people for reward, for he believes that his reward is with God; he does not devour people’s belongings falsely, nor does he take anyone’s life unrightfully, nor does he oppress a small ant or a bigger creature, and therefore, if someone responds to his invitation and helps him, he does so because of the truthfulness of his words and the rightness of his work based on intellectual and religious reasons, and with intention of preparing the ground for the advent of Mahdi, and if someone does not do so or instead becomes hostile to him, he will not harm him, and will only divest himself of a good or cause himself an evil, “And God is Fully Aware of what they do”. Therefore, Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani is just a pious and Muslim scholar who prohibits Muslims from following oppressive and tyrannical rulers, and invites them to follow Mahdi, and prevents them from following conjectures and illusions, and orders them to follow knowledge and certainties, and warns them against ignorance, imitation, passions, worldliness, fanaticism, arrogance and superstitionism, and enjoins them to establish the pure and perfect Islam in the light of the Quran, the Sunnah and the sound intellect, and therefore, those who are hostile to him have no excuse before God and must prepare themselves for His punishment; because clearly it is not permissible to be hostile to such a righteous man, rather it is obligatory to make friends with him, and whoever is hostile to him is a misguided oppressor; such as one who tries to kill him, or labels him as a disbeliever, or insults him, or mocks him, or slanders him, or harms him, or tempts people against him, and it is clear that all of these people are in an obvious error. [Question and Answer 8]
Zayd ibn Arqam, Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib, Wathila, Umm Salamah and Safiyya have narrated that the part ﴿إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا﴾; “Indeed, God wants to remove any impurity from you, O Ahl al-Bayt, and make you completely pure” was revealed separately in the house of Umm Salamah as an actuality-proposition, and was not revealed with the part ﴿وَقَرْنَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ وَلَا تَبَرَّجْنَ تَبَرُّجَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الْأُولَى ۖ وَأَقِمْنَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتِينَ الزَّكَاةَ وَأَطِعْنَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ﴾, which means: “And stay in your houses, do not flaunt your charms as in the former times of ignorance, perform prayer, pay zakat, and obey God and His Messenger”, and this indicates that they are two separate verses that were brought together in writing; considering that the order of writing the verses does not correlate with the order of their revelation. What strengthens this fact is the difference in pronouns in the two parts; because the pronoun in the part ﴿وَقَرْنَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ...﴾ is a second-person pronoun for the plural feminine, but the pronoun in the part ﴿إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا﴾ is a second-person pronoun for the plural masculine; as al-Tahawi (d. 321 AH) has also pointed this out in Sharh Mushkil al-Athar, when he said after mentioning the narrations: “What we narrated from the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, (that said) to Umm Salamah, indicates that the verse intends the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain, peace be upon them, not other than them. So if one says: The Book of God indicates that the wives of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, are the ones whom are intended in this verse; because before that in the same chapter He said: ‘O Prophet! say to your wives: If you’ to His words ‘as in the former times of ignorance’ then He said: ‘Indeed, God wants to remove any impurity from you’, our answer to him is: What has been stated in it up to before His words: ‘Indeed, God wants to’, addresses his wives, then God continued His words by addressing his Ahl (al-Bayt): ‘Indeed, God wants to remove’, and it addresses men, because He said in it: ‘to remove any impurity from you, O Ahl al-Bayt, and make you pure’, and this is how men are addressed, while what comes before that, uses the letter ‘N («ن»)’, and this is how women are addressed. So we understand that ‘Indeed, God wants to remove’ is an address to men whom He has willed to make them aware of His honor for them and His elevation in their dignity, if He made their women what He has described, for what has been stated in the verses before the one addressing them”, and it is not just al-Tahawi that has said so, but rather ibn Atiyyah (d. 542 AH) has attributed it to the majority, and said after pointing out the narrations: “One of the proofs of the majority is God’s words: «عَنْكُمُ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ» with the letter ‘M («م»)’, while if it had been exclusive to women, it would have been «عَنْكُنَّ»”. [Critique and Response 11]
Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani does not worship the god of ibn Hamid, ibn Taymiyyah, ibn Abd al-Wahhab and others like them; the god who is above and not below, has two eyes, two ears, two feet, and ten real fingers, moves from one place to another, can be seen by eyes like the moon in the sky, and is a perfect example of al-Lat, Hubal, and al-‘Uzza, hidden behind the veil of “without knowing how or what”! But he worships the God of Ibrahim, Isma‘il, Ishaq, Ya‘qub, the Descendants, Isa and Musa, who said: “O Lord! Show me so that I see You”, and He replied: “You will never see Me”, then he repented of his expectation: “He said: Glory be to You, I repent to You”; the God who destroyed seventy men of the children of Israel with a thunderbolt because they wanted to see Him with their eyes: “They said: Show us God manifestly”; because “Eyes cannot perceive Him, but He perceives all eyes, and He is the Subtle, the Aware”; the God that wherever you go He is there, and His presence is not limited to places and directions; as He has said: “Wherever you turn, there is the presence of God”, and said: “He is with you wherever you are”; the God who does not move from one place to another, nor does He rely on His creatures, nor is it possible to divide Him into parts, nor is He characterized by human characteristics; as He has said: “There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing”; the God that does not fit into any description, nor is He perceived by any imagination, and He is Glorified, Exalted from anything imaginable; as He has said: “They do not know God as He deserves to be known”, and said: “Glorified and Exalted is He, from whatever they describe”; the God that has all the Most Excellent Names, without the multiplicity of His Names leading to the multiplicity or division of His Essence; as He has said: “God, there is no god but He; He has the Most Excellent Names”; as the two attributes “the All-Seeing” and “the All-Hearing” do not transform Him into two beings, nor do they create two parts for Him, but rather He is the All-Hearing in His Essence, the All-Seeing in His Essence, and hearing and seeing are two aspects of one attribute of Him, which is “knowledge”; because there is no way for multiplicity to His presence, and He is pure from any plurality in His Essence; as He has said: “Say: He is the One God”, and said: “And Our command is but one”. [Critique and Response 11]
Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani worships the Lord of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and does not associate anyone with Him in creation, legislation and sovereignty; in the sense that he believes in His oneness in creating all the creatures, providing sustenance for them and managing them, and does not submit to any law other than His law, or to any government other than His government, and believes that His government is the government of one who rules with His permission, even though most people do not know... The God that legislation belongs to Him, and none but He makes a thing obligatory or forbidden; as He has said: “Or do they have partners who legislate for them as the religion that which God has not permitted?!”; the God that the government belongs to Him, and none but He appoints or removes a ruler; as He has said: “Say: O God! You are the Owner of the government! You give the government to whomever You will and take the government from whomever You will”; so He has no partner in the government; as He has said: ﴿وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ شَرِيكٌ فِي الْمُلْكِ﴾! This is the God of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and the God of Ibrahim and his family, and this is the God of Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, the flag-bearer of monotheism in the current era with the monotheistic call “Allegiance belongs to God”. [Critique and Response 11]
Know that Mansoor attempts to gather Muslims of the world altogether around Mahdi, peace be upon him, by relying on Islamic certainties, and you must cooperate with him in this good and blessed work, not make it more difficult for him by beating the drum for accusations of disbelief and blowing into the fire of division. We invite you and other Muslims of the world to “return to the pure and perfect Islam”; because it is the preparation of the ground for the advent of Mahdi, and the advent of Mahdi is the preparation of the ground for the earth to be filled with justice and equity after it has been filled with oppression and cruelty, and this is a happiness that there is no happiness greater than that. So join Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, support him in this great Islamic movement, and allow him to change your old disagreements into a union in the light of the government of Mahdi, peace be upon him. [Critique and Response 11]
Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani does not take allegiance from any Muslim for himself; Since he considers the allegiance only belongs to God, and his meaning by that is to pledge allegiance to someone whom God has commanded to pledge allegiance to and he is nobody except Mahdi that pledging allegiance to him is obligtory upon every Muslim. Accordingly, Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani takes allegiance from Muslims of this world for Mahdi; In the meaning that he takes promise and oath from them that if Mahdi appears to them, they protect, support and obey him and do not leave him alone like those who were before them. This is the context of the allegiance which Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani takes from every Muslim, and if sufficient number of Muslims pledge such allegiance to him, the grounds for the advent of Mahdi will be prepared. [Critique and Response 15]
Elsewhere in the book Return to Islam, Khorasani considers the establishment of Islam to be useful and effective only in its pure and perfect form, and believes that establishing a part of it alone or mixed with something outside of it, not only is it not useful and effective, but can be harmful and dangerous, and this is contrary to the belief of most Muslims who think that establishing a part of Islam is also desirable and effective. He likens Islam to a single system with interconnected components that if one component does not work, the other components will also lose their efficiency and the whole system will fail. Therefore, Muslims have no choice but to establish the entire Islam in its purest form, and this is possible only if the Caliph of God on the earth teaches it. Another fundamental and important issue in this book is that the author considers the implementation of Islamic hudud and punishments contingent upon the implementation of all general and political rulings of Islam, and believes that legislating these hudud and punishments has been done in view of the rule of God on the earth, proportional to the time and place that all rulings of Islam are implemented as deterrents. Therefore, the implementation of these hudud and punishments in another time and place is not fair and proportional; especially considering that from the author’s point of view, the rulings of Islam are interdependent and interconnected and affect each other and are influenced by each other. [Article 1]
In another part of the book Return to Islam, Mansoor Hashemi considers disagreements among Muslims, sovereignty of anyone other than God, mixing with non-Islamic nations and cultures, emergence of sects and their rivalry with each other, moral decline, and prevention of enemies as the most important impediments to the establishment of the perfect and pure Islam since the demise of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and talks about each of them in detail, with a historical, pathological and trans-sectarian perspective. He also considers the tendency to Hadiths as one of the impediments to knowing the pure and perfect Islam and its establishment by Muslims; because in his opinion, Hadiths, in the sense of conjectural narrations from the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, have no validity due to the invalidity of conjecture in Islam, and it is not sufficient to rely on them in order to deduce a belief or a law. He believes that there is no reason to exclude the conjecture arising from Hadiths from other conjectures; because the invalidity of conjecture is one of the rulings of the intellect which do not accept exceptions. Therefore, only a mutawatir Hadith whose narrators are numerous and leads to certainty is valid, while such Hadiths are very few and are not available enough. However, from the author’s point of view, the solution to this predicament is not to refer to non-mutawatir Hadiths, but to refer to the Caliph of God on the earth, and if it is not possible to refer to him at the present time, it is because of the fault of people for not making its arrangements, and therefore, there is no excuse for them to refer to non-mutawatir Hadiths. Hashemi Khorasani believes that people have put themselves in a desperate situation by their own fault for not making the necessary arrangements to access the Caliph of God on the earth, and that this situation is not imposed upon us from God to be in conflict with His grace. However, he believes that it is possible for them to get out of this desperation; because their access to the Caliph of God on the earth is possible when his security is guaranteed by them; as his sovereignty over them is possible when their demand, support and obedience to him are guaranteed by them. [Article 1]
In this part of his book, after introducing the last Prophet of God and proving his Prophethood, the author explains the position of the Quran and the Sunnah, and points out very important and fundamental points in this regard. One of these points is the impossibility of abrogating, specifying and generalizing the Quran by the Sunnah; considering that the only duty of the Sunnah is to explain the Quran and cannot contradict it in any way; as it is conjectural in most cases and not capable of contradicting the Quran which is certain; rather, in mutawatir cases, it is not as mutawatir as the Quran either and cannot stand in an equal position to it. In another part of the book Return to Islam, the author considers the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, authentic which can be followed forever, but he believes that access to it in a certain way is possible mainly for people of his time and not for future generations. Therefore, future generations need another authority to achieve certainty about the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and that authority is the Caliph of God on the earth, who is considered the successor to the Prophet in implementing God’s rulings, and of course, like the Quran, is always available to people. [Article 1]
After examining the definitive Islamic texts, including the verses of the Quran and the mutawatir Hadiths of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, the author proves in an elaborate and convincing manner to all Muslims, free from any sectarian orientation, that the Caliphs after the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, are twelve people from his Ahl al-Bayt, the first three of whom are Ali, Hasan and Husayn and the last of them is Mahdi. He then studies the position of Mahdi and his role in the realization of the ideal of Islam, which is global justice, and in this regard, he brings up some accurate and profound details that are completely novel and unprecedented. For example, unlike others who believe that the creation and advent of Mahdi depends first on the will and action of God and subject to His wisdom and expediency, he believes that it depends first on the will and action of people and subject to their free will and readiness, and explicitly and decisively asserts that their access to Mahdi is possible, and therefore, they should only think of protecting, supporting and obeying him, and should not make themselves busy protecting, supporting and obeying people other than him, whoever they are. [Article 1]
In the end of his book, Hashemi explains the most important principle of Islam, which is monotheism, and divides it into three parts: monotheism in creation, monotheism in legislation, and monotheism in judgment or sovereignty, and explains each of them in detail. He then introduces the rest of the principles of the beliefs and the foundations of the rulings of Islam, and redefines each of them with a distinct and particular method, and opens new doors to jurists about Zakat, Hajj and Jihad, from each of them new doors are opened. In this way, he redefines the beliefs and rulings of Islam by relying on clear intellectual rules and based on definite religious texts, which are nothing but verses of the Quran and mutawatir Hadiths of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and presents a new and distinct understanding of it that can be considered an Islamic school and ideology, capable of revolutionizing the attitude and approach of Muslims of the world and preparing the ground for their unity and mutual closeness in the near future and for major and fundamental changes in their political and cultural structures. We recommend all Muslims of the world, especially scholars, to study this important and influential book, and we expect them and the officials of Islamic countries to show the necessary patience and forbearance in face of it by observing freedom of thought and expression and adhering to Islamic ethics and scholarly etiquette and to avoid hasty and irrational confrontations with thoughts and thinkers. [Article 1]
